Mars Hill is just 20 minutes north of Asheville. Abstract. [5], Greil Marcus discussed the meaning of "I Wish I Was a Mole In the Ground" both in his liner notes to Bob Dylan and The Band's album, The Basement Tapes (1975), and in his book Lipstick Traces. A highlight of the day is the 11 a.m. presentation of the 2019 Bascom Lamar Lunsford Award, which will be given to dancer Loretta Freeman. The Chamber asked Lunsford to invite local musicians and dancers. His first music collecting trips were on horseback. In 1964 Lunsford was the subject of a documentary film, shot with a 16mm hand held camera, by New York City filmmaker, David Hoffman. Bascom Lamar Lunsford, dubbed the Minstrel of the Appalachians and famed for founding the Mountain Dance and Folk Festival, also collected songs, sought performers, and coordinated festivals in Piedmont and Eastern North Carolina. The banjo-boasting festival comes in second place in regards to the region’s oldest folk festivals. See Who's Going to Bascom Lamar Lunsford "Minstrel of Appalachia" Festival 2020 in Mars Hill, NC! While we wished we could have been together this year, the virtual events were special in their own way and we were happy to help keep our students, staff, and the wider community healthy so that we can all be together in 2021. The Chamber asked Lunsford to invite local musicians and dancers. Bascom Lamar Lunsford was born in 1882, in the beautiful rolling hills of Madison County just north of Asheville, North Carolina. The festival brings out the region’s finest musicians and dancers and it happens on the same day as the Madison Heritage Arts Festival, so downtown is abuzz. After a few years the rhododendron element disappeared but the festival continues to this day. Musician, folklorist, and festival organizer Bascom Lamar Lunsford was born in Madison County. P.O. The Mountain Dance and Folk Festival was founded by Bascom Lamar Lunsford as a means for people to share and understand the beauty and dignity of the Southern Appalachian music and dance traditions that have been handed down through generations in western North Carolina. Early recorded Appalachian musicians include Fiddlin' John Carson, G. B. Grayson & Henry Whitter, Bascom Lamar Lunsford, the Carter Family, Clarence Ashley, and Dock Boggs, all of whom were initially recorded in the 1920s and 1930s. Smith's anthology also includes Lunsford's performance of the gospel song "Dry Bones", recorded in 1928. Join us in honoring the rich cultural traditions of the Southern Appalachians! Charles Seeger employed him in the mid-30s to promote singers in "Skyline Farms", as part of the "New Deal". In light of ongoing state and regional concerns with the Covid-19 pandemic, the Bascom Lamar Lunsford Music of Appalachia Festival scheduled for October 3, 2020, was replaced with three virtual events. 6 talking about this. Bascom Lamar Lunsford (March 21, 1882 – September 4, 1973) was a lawyer, folklorist, and performer of traditional (folk and country) music from western North Carolina. At an early age, his father, a teacher, gave him a fiddle, and his mother sang religious songs and traditional ballads. Mars Hill University Our Supporters. Click here for downloadable Lunsford Festival Map. Bascom was involved in the politics of … He was often known by the nickname "Minstrel of the Appalachians. He was born in a time that gave him a grasp of nineteenth-century history and culture, and he grew to understand the great changes that were coming in the new century. In 1922 Frank C. Brown, a song collector, recorded 32 items on wax cylinders from Bascom. Lunsford has been quoted as saying he spent "nights in more homes from Harpers Ferry to Iron Mountain than God". Thank you to our generous 2019 Festival Sponsors and Partners, Madison County Junior Appalachian Musicians (JAM) students playing “backstage”, Angel Ridge Farm demonstrates a spinning wheel. Mars Hill is located just 20 miles north of Asheville. His mother was a ballad singer, and … "We will have scholars to talk about Lunsford's contributions, music and dance to spare, and a few really special treats worthy of a golden anniversary," said Brandon Johnson, a consultant to the festival. In honor of the 50th Anniversary of the Bascom Lamar Lunsford Festival, the Ramsey Center has planned a whole week of events and festivities. Musician and folklorist Bascom Lamar Lunsford dedicated his life to traveling the hills and coves of the Appalachian Mountains to find, memorize, and record the songs and dances so intimately woven into the mountain culture. The Bascom Lamar Lunsford Family Collection consists of 14 studio and field recordings, 1935-1972, created or compiled by the North Carolina lawyer, folklorist, performer and festival promoter, Bascom Lamar Lunsford (1882-1973), and his family. Politics and fame. Lunsford played in a style from Western North Carolina, which had a rhythmic up-stroke brushing the strings. He began the Mountain Dance and Folk Festival in Asheville in 1928, and from there was enlisted to help start the National Folk Festival. An Initiative of Blue Ridge National Heritage Area North Carolina Arts Council Come Hear NC A CD collection of Lunsford's recordings, from the Brunswick recordings of the 1920s to the recordings for the Archive of American Folk Song at the Library of Congress in 1949, Ballads, Banjo Tunes and Sacred Songs of Western North Carolina, was released by Smithsonian Folkways Records in 1996. 2020 Festival virtual events Interested in receiving our eNewsletter? He was often known by the nickname "Minstrel of the Appalachians." From a dance demonstration to a talk by noted scholar of Appalachia David Whisnant, there’s something for everyone. [2], Lunsford gave lectures and performances while dressed in a starched white shirt and black bow tie. Join us for an evening of solo banjo tunes. . This formal dress was part of his campaign against the stereotyping of “hillbillies”.[2]. He sold the rights to the song for a train ticket home. The event is the second oldest folk festival in Western North Carolina and was named in honor of co-founder Bascom Lamar Lunsford. [1], After qualifying as a teacher at Rutherford College, Lunsford taught at schools in Madison County. For now, please watch and enjoy the 3 nights of this year’s Mountain Dance and Folk Festival put on by the hard-working and talented people at the Folk Heritage Committee. He censored himself, avoiding obscene songs or omitting verses. Bascom Lamar Lunsford (March 21, 1882 - September 4, 1973) was a lawyer, folklorist, and performer of traditional folk and country music from western North Carolina. It was most famously recorded by Bascom Lamar Lunsford in 1928 for Brunswick Records in Ashland, Kentucky. His repertoire included Child Ballads, negro spirituals and parlor songs. [citation needed]. "Jesse James" is a 19th-century American folk song … Click here to subscribe. Inspired by a mother who softly sang mountain ballads and religious songs around the house, Bascom began a love affair with old-timey music that would last throughout his lifetime. No upcoming occurrences in the timeframe specified for this event. The Bascom Lamar Lunsford Festival is coming up on October 4th. He was the son of James Bassett and Luarta Leah Buckner Lunsford and the great-grandson of Thomas Shepard Deaver, a founder of Mars Hill College. [5], Lunsford's original recording of "Good Old Mountain Dew" was used as the first advertising theme for the newly created Mountain Dew soda. The event will include a Q&A for […] His father was a Confederate veteran from East Tennessee, and his mother came from a Unionist family from Buncombe and Madison Counties. In 1928, Lunsford recorded "Jesse James" and "I Wish I Was a Mole In the Ground" for the Brunswick record label. He was born in a time that gave him a grasp of nineteenth-century history and culture, and he grew to understand the great changes that were coming in the new century. After a few years the rhododendron element disappeared but the festival continues to this day. Asheville since 1928.That year, Bascom Lamar Lunsford, a passionate lover of mountain music and culture and an active collector of folk music, organized a contest for musicians and dancers in conjunction with the Rhododendron Festival.This first festival was held on 6 June 1928 in Pack Square in the center of Asheville. A ticketed concert on Friday, October 6, at 7 p.m. in Moore Auditorium on the Mars Hill University campus will host the region’s best ballad singers, dancers and string bands. Click here to subscribe. Title [Bascom Lamar Lunsford and two "Alabama visitors" at the Mountain Music Festival, Asheville, North Carolina] Created / Published [between 1934 and 1950] Subject Headings The Lunsford Festival is an all-day festival celebrating regional music and dance traditions. His father, a teacher, bought Bascom and his brother a fiddle and a banjo at a young age. The event is the second oldest folk festival in Western North Carolina and was named in honor of cofounder Bascom Lamar Lunsford. Included it this pamphlet (click images to enlarge). Bascom Lamar Lunsford "Minstrel of Appalachia" Festival The Bascom Lamar Lunsford "Minstrel of Appalachia" Festival is the second oldest folk festival in the region and was started in 1967. Lunsford sang, "'Cause a railroad man they'll kill you when he can / And drink up your blood like wine," which is echoed by Dylan's line "Mona tried to tell me / To stay away from the train line / She said that all the railroad men / Just drink up your blood like wine" on his song "Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again", recorded in 1966 for the album Blonde on Blonde. He was the organiser and performed there every year until he suffered a stroke in 1965. 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